around the horn

around the horn

Friday’s other MLB games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Tigers 4, Angels 2

DETROIT

Justin Verlander pitched into the eighth inning and Justin Upton homered for the fourth time in five games to lead Detroit past Los Angeles. The Tigers have won five straight to move back into contention in the AL Central and wild-card races. Upton was hitting .226 when Tigers manager Brad Ausmus held him out of the starting lineup for three days last week. Since returning Saturday, he’s batting .417 with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBIs.

Mariners 3, White Sox 1

CHICAGO

Chris Sale struck out 14 but got outpitched by Felix Hernandez and the Seattle bullpen, and the Mariners beat Chicago to end a three-game skid. Hernandez (9-4) improved to 5-0 in eight starts since returning from the disabled list, throwing 71/3 innings of one-run ball. Sale (15-7) gave up five hits and walked none in his fifth complete game of the season. He retired the final 16 batters, striking out 10 of them.

Astros 5, Rays 4

HOUSTON

Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning to lift Houston past Tampa Bay. Mikie Mahtook’s first homer this season, a towering shot with two outs in the ninth inning, had put the Rays on top before Houston’s dramatic comeback.

Royals 6, Red Sox 3

BOSTON

Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon homered, and Ian Kennedy allowed one run through five innings and Kansas City beat Boston. Kansas City has won 11 of its last 12 games and is 18-6 in August. Kennedy (9-9) had a chance set a club record by allowing one or fewer runs in six straight outings of at least six innings. But he left with a runner on after 51/3 innings and wound up charged for two earned runs in the game. He finished with nine strikeouts.

Yankees 14, Orioles 4

NEW YORK

Rookie Gary Sanchez homered for the eighth time in nine games and drove in four runs to help New York beat Baltimore. Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley also went deep for the surging Yankees, who moved five games over .500 for the first time this season. Sanchez, who had three hits, had a two-out single in the bottom of the first. Teixeira followed with a towering shot into the right-field bleachers off Yovani Gallardo to give New York a 2-1 lead. The Yankees broke the game open against Gallardo (4-6) with a six-run second.

Blue Jays 15, Twins 8

TORONTO

Russell Martin and Justin Smoak each homered and drove in five runs and Toronto handed Minnesota its eighth straight loss. Josh Donaldson and Darwin Barney also homered. Francisco Liriano had his first win with Toronto to help the Blue Jays take a one-game lead in the AL East. Trevor Plouffe hit a solo homer for the last-place Twins.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Mets 9, Phillies 4

NEW YORK

Wilmer Flores launched a grand slam, Asdrubal Cabrera homered from both sides of the plate and even Bartolo Colon had two helpful hits while pitching the New York Mets to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Jose Reyes and Cabrera opened the Mets’ half of the first inning with consecutive home runs, only the second time the franchise has accomplished the feat. Trying to make a significant move in the crowded NL wild-card race, New York (65-63) opened a 10-game homestand by winning for the fifth time in its past six.

Nationals 8, Rockies 5

WASHINGTON

Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy hit solo homers and drove in two runs each, and Gio Gonzalez earned his 100th career victory in Washington’s win over Colorado. Gonzalez (9-9) threw six innings and allowed two runs and four hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Nick Hundley hit a three-run homer for the Rockies. While Gonzalez hit the century mark, Rockies rookie Jeff Hoffman (0-2), remains in search of his first major league win. Hoffman allowed a homer to the second batter he faced when Werth went deep for the second time in twos many days and the 18th time this season.

INTERLEAGUE

Cardinals 3, Athletics 1

ST. LOUIS

Jedd Gyorko homered and Luke Weaver pitched six strong innings to earn his first major league win as St. Louis beat Oakland. Gyorko’s 423-foot shot in the first extended the Cardinals’ home run streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the majors, and made it 2-0 after just two batters. Weaver (1-1) gave up one run and four hits in a career-high six innings in his home debut for the Cardinals.

Associated Press